The submission period for the PSO-World Phantasy Star Zero Character Portrait Contest is over. You can help select the winner by voting for your favorite entry on our gallery page! The artist of the most popular entry will receive a free copy of Phantasy Star Zero. The voting period will conclude on January 9th. Be sure to choose carefully since you only receive one vote. Good luck to all of the contestants!

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A small update has been announced for this week which will prepare the lobbies for their annual change for the new year as well as implement the compensation for the recent rollbacks. For those who may not know, here are the rewards we can expect to see when the servers come back up from maintenance this Friday.

• Megaholy Photon Fortune for all races
• 10% boost to weapon grinding success rates
• 10% boost to weapon and line shield synthesis success rates
• 50% discount on clothes and parts
• Free makeovers at Lumilass

All of these bonuses will be in place until the servers go down for maintenance on January 15, 2009. Please feel free to discuss this update at the forum.

Update: The Japanese 360 site's post-maintenance notes have revealed a few bits of information that have not been released yet by SEGA of America. First, a bug was fixed in which enemies in block 3 of "Scarred Planet" would get stuck behind walls and piles of rubble, making it impossible for them to move. Second, the Parum GBR has been extended by an extra week. Now the event is scheduled to conclude when the servers go down for maintenance on January 15, 2009. Thanks to S-T-H for the tip!

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If you're a die-hard Phantasy Star fan with a pre-order for the Japanese version of Phantasy Star Zero, you might be in for an early Christmas present. Several reports have come in that import retailer
PlayAsia started shipping pre-ordered copies of the game to customers in the US on Friday. While this may just be an attempt to make sure the games arrive as close to release day as possible, some lucky folks may just be getting their copies before their Japanese counterparts do.

Pre-orders are still being taken, for those of you still interested in getting some play time before the US release. Stay tuned to PSO-World as we continue to add features and information to support this title, and feel free to drop by the Phantasy Star Zero forum to join in on the latest discussions!

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A number of reports have been flowing in from Xbox 360 players concerning various forms of misplaced data which had been preceded by apparent trouble with the Player Room server. Considering the number of reports and the trustworthiness of several of them, it would be advised to take this into account if you plan on continuing to play for the time being. Once more is known about the situation, we'll be sure to update this posting.

A thread has been started about this in the forum.

Update at 3:00 pm EST: Clumsyorchid has asked that anyone having these kinds of issues respond with their details in this thread.

Update at 5:15 pm EST: The Xbox 360 servers have been taken offline for emergency maintenance.

Update at 6:20 pm EST: The Xbox 360 servers are back online and player data has been rolled back to this morning's save state.

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• Phantasy Star Zero - 33/40
• Phantasy Star Portable - 33/40
• Phantasy Star Online: Episode 1 and 2 - 35/40
• Phantasy Star Universe - 35/40

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As posted by the GM Edward, Sonic Team has released details on some incoming tweaks.  They will not be starting with tonight's maintenance, however will be implemented soon.

 

Until January 16th, the following will be active:

• +10% grind bonus for weapons
• Super Holy Light photon fortune bonus for all races
• 50% discount for clothes and parts
• +10% synth bonus for weapons and armor
• Free makeovers at Lumilass

The first three are claimed to be compensation for the recent server rollbacks.  The last two are a special holiday treat.

 

Further discussion is taking place in our forums.

 

Update: Edward has posted on the official forums mentioning that these changes will be delivered during the December 25th maintenance period.

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The official Japanese Xbox 360 site was update this morning with details on this Friday's content update to the local servers. Here's what all we can expect after the servers come back up from maintenance this Friday.

• Three new GUARDIANS types are being released: Fighmaster, Gunmaster and Masterforce.
• With the new types, certain photon arts will be able to reach LV50!
• Wartechers, Fortetechers and Acrotechers will each receive a ten level boost to their current support TECHNIC cap. Guntechers' attack TECHNIC cap will increase from LV20 to LV30.
• The sixth chapter of Episode 3 will make its debut.
• Christmas makes its return, bringing with it the rare Rappy Noel!
• NPC Hyuga Ryght will have some adjustments made to his AI.

Special thanks to Marshall Banana for the news tip. You can join in the discussion of this exciting update over at the forum!

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First details on the future expansion of PSU: Ambition of the Illuminus have been revealed! Thanks to Japanese fan site Shougai PSO and magazine Dengeki PlayStation, we are pleased to share the following bits of information on this developing story.

• It has not been confirmed yet if this "addition" will be considered a true expansion or not.
• The method of release has not been confirmed yet. Further details will be revealed in a future issue of Dengeki PlayStation.
• There will be some gameplay modifications made to help make the game more enjoyable. The battle system has been confirmed as one recipient of such changes.
• Many new weapons are planned for the addition, including some from Phantasy Star Portable.

We expect further details to be released in the coming months. In the meantime, join in our discussion of this news over at the message board!

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